ONE of Welsh Labour’s selected candidates for the European Parliament is an “absentee” councillor in London who has been criticised by his own group leader.

ONE of Welsh Labour’s selected candidates for the European Parliament is an “absentee” councillor in London who has been criticised by his own group leader.

Leighton Veale is number four on Labour’s list of candidates for the election which will take place in June.

Wales elects four MEPs using a system of proportional representation, and Mr Veale has no realistic chance of winning a seat.

But Plaid Cymru has questioned his suitability to be on the ballot paper after it emerged that he was drawing allowances to serve as a councillor in the London Borough of Merton while working for a charity in Cardiff.

Plaid’s interest in Mr Veale was roused when he wrote a letter to a local paper earlier this month questioning the calibre of some Plaid councillors and their attendance record at meetings.

After checking his status as a councillor in London, Plaid established that he was not a member of any committee, but was drawing the basic allowance of more than £8,200 a year.

Last July Mr Veale and another Merton councillor living outside London were criticised publicly by their Labour group leader, Stephen Alambritis, who said they were leaving a “democratic deficit” in their ward.

Mr Alambritis said: “These councillors haven’t decided to get elected and then abscond elsewhere. There are good reasons for them to leave. But I can’t, as leader of their group, freeze their allowance or force them to live in their ward. The residents can take a view on this but I do have sympathy.

“I don’t want to be hypercritical of my councillors, but they are aware of my views, even though I can’t take any action.

“There should be national legislation that stops this from happening, but there’s very little that we can do about it at the moment. The situation leaves a real democratic deficit.”

“To complain about the calibre of hard-working volunteer community councillors in Neath while he lives in Cardiff and receives over £8,000 a year for being a local councillor in Merton is truly shocking.

“I hope that Mr Veale has the decency to apologise, not just to the Plaid councillors he insulted but also to the people of Longthornton in Merton whom he is letting down.”

They are clearly worried about losing their seat' - next page

A Welsh Labour spokesman responded: “Leighton was elected as a councillor while living in London.

“Since then his work has brought him back to Wales. Leighton lives in Neath and works for the Stroke Association in Cardiff.

“As he lives in South Wales, he will not be seeking re-election in the local elections in Merton in June 2010.

“Leighton attends full council meetings and has been involved with recent budget preparations.

“Like many other councillors in the same position, he handles his ward casework via e-mail and telephone.

“It is interesting that Plaid Cymru are taking an interest in him as the fourth candidate on the list.

“They are clearly worried about losing their seat.

“Leighton is the fourth member of Labour’s team for the European Parliament election on Thursday, June 4, campaigning hard for Welsh people to get the most from Europe.”

Both of Labour’s sitting MEPs – Glenys Kinnock and Eluned Morgan – are standing down at the election.

The party’s top three candidates are Derek Vaughan, the leader of Neath Port Talbot council, Lisa Stevens, who currently works as press officer for Mrs Kinnock and Ms Morgan, and Rachel Maycock, an adviser to the Prime Minister on European affairs.

Mr Veale, who was born in Swansea in 1976, went to school in Neath and holds a degree in social policy from Cardiff University.

He was Labour’s candidate in Brecon & Radnorshire at the 2005 general election, and a regional list candidate for South Wales West at the Assembly election in 2007. He has been a councillor in Merton since 2002.

WalesOnline is part of Media Wales, publisher of the Western Mail, South Wales Echo, Wales on Sunday and the seven Celtic weekly titles, offering you unique access to our audience across Wales online and in print.